by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

"They don't like us. They don't," LeBron James told news reporters Monday in Miami. "I can sense it from Timmy's comments over the last couple of days. â?¦ They want us, so they got us."

Winning a championship is motivation enough, but players often look for an extra edge. The Spurs are bent on revenge. The Heat have on eye on history, trying to become the fourth NBA franchise to win three consecutive championships (along with the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls).

"You get to the Finals, you use everything as motivation," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.

Miami now has a Duncan quote for its bulletin board. In an on-court TNT interview after the San Antonio Spurs clinched their second consecutive Western Conference title, Duncan said, "We've got four more to win. We'll do it this time."

But other than a few select soundbites, the Heat were reserved and business-like Monday. It was the first time they spoke with reporters since the Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals to set up a rematch of last season's memorable seven-game series.

"No one is entitled," James said. "This is no one's championship. It isn't ours. It isn't theirs. It's two teams fighting for it."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra downplayed his team's fourth consecutive trip to the Finals and the Heat's chance to win another title. He downplayed Duncan's comments, too.

"I'm sure they're very motivated coming off last year's series. None of that really matters," he said. "All that is decided between the lines and once you get out there in a series, both teams are playing with incredible urgency and desperation."

Spoelstra has done a fantastic job convincing his players that anything other than the next game is frivolous. Spoelstra, as usual, was more interested in talking about what's required on the court than story lines he can't control.

"Two teams that play fairly similarly in terms of what kind of actions create ball movement, the spacing, the three-point shooting and the attackers who can get in the paint," he said.

James and Bosh both said they planned on watching a lot of video of the Spurs, who had some success guarding them in last year's Finals. James shot 44.7% in the series after shooting 56.5% last regular season, while Bosh averaged 11.9 points a game and was scoreless in the Game 7 win.

James certainly wasn't interested in any promises.

"Whatever happens, happens," he said. "If we play our game, we give ourselves a great chance to win. Win, lose or draw, we'll be alright with it."

More than anything, the two-time defending Finals MVP sounded like he was ready for Game 1.

"Both teams have motivating factors," James said. "They have motivating factors. We have our own. May the best team win."